Prescriptions of harmful “chemical cosh” medicines to dementia-afflicted nursing home residents increased by 50 percent during the Covid period, according to new data.
Researchers from the University of Exeter and King’s College London discovered that the use of antipsychotic medications in homes increased from 18 percent in 2017 to 28 percent in 2018.
Patients with schizophrenia are typically taken tranquilizers to prevent hallucinations.
Due to their sedative effects, they have been termed “chemical cosh” and are widely used to reduce agitation in dementia patients, despite a purported government crackdown due to the dangers they bring.
According to a previous study, they have double the risk of premature death and triple the risk of stroke.
Charities condemned the “shocking and deadly scale” at which vulnerable residents are now receiving the drug.
According to data presented today at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference, up to fifty percent of dementia patients in one-third of care facilities were provided the medications.
The research data contrasted over 700 inhabitants of British nursing homes who participated in two studies in 2016-17 and 2021-22.
The Alzheimer’s Society’s Dr. Richard Oakley stated, “This study demonstrates the surprising and dangerous extent to which antipsychotic medicines are used to treat dementia in nursing homes.”
Alzheimer’s Society has advocated for a shift away from the “medicate first” strategy and financed research into alternatives to antipsychotic prescriptions, to put people with dementia at the center of their care.
This drug-free, individualized therapy can help prevent the fatal adverse effects linked with antipsychotic medicines.
In June of this year, 41,198 of England’s 447,415 registered dementia patients were prescribed antipsychotics, according to the most recent NHS data.
Some of the most distressing behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia, such as agitation and psychotic episodes, are treated with antipsychotic medications.
They show extremely limited, short-term effects in the treatment of mental symptoms in dementia patients.
However, they dramatically raise the chance of serious adverse consequences, including stroke, accelerated aging, and mortality.
Covid posed new issues for nursing homes, where around 70% of residents suffer from dementia.
Access to PPE, staffing levels, isolation, and caring for people in lockdown situations were some of the difficulties faced by care homes.
Professor Clive Ballard, who participated in the 2009 national effort to limit antipsychotic medication by half, stated that dementia patients must be protected from “severe hazards.”
He stated, “Covid exerted enormous pressure on care institutions, and the majority of them must be commended for maintaining relatively modest antipsychotic prescribing levels despite extraordinarily challenging conditions.”
However, there were very considerable increases in the prescribing of antipsychotics in one-third of care facilities, and we must rapidly develop ways to prioritize support to prevent individuals with dementia from being exposed to significant risks.
A lifestyle that is intellectually, socially, and physically active may prevent dementia.
Today’s study suggests that learning a new language, volunteering, and gardening in middle life are among the activities that may protect against dementia.
According to experts at the Brighton and Sussex Medical School, an “intellectually, socially, and physically busy lifestyle” may stave off the memory-robbing illness.
The study followed over 1,200 Brits over their lifetimes to determine how their behaviors and levels of schooling affected their cognitive function in old age.
Those who maintained at least six brain-stimulating activities throughout their lifetimes had the best cognitive performance in their late 60s, according to the study.
Researchers asserted that learning new skills, such as French or German, in one’s forties “may help prevent cognitive decline and dementia.”
It is estimated that approximately 900,000 people in the United Kingdom suffer from dementia, with rates anticipated to rise as the population ages. According to charity, the number is seven times higher in the United States.
Multiple studies have associated maintaining a healthy brain by reading, writing, and playing games with a five-year delay in the development of this horrible disease.
